Insights

As we launch into the new financial year Arete Executive is enjoying a very busy period, both in terms of our executive recruitment services, and also our career coaching and advocacy. In my discussions with CEOs and Chairs, the job market in South East Queensland still seems to be slower than in Sydney and Melbourne. That said, there is still a reasonable amount of hiring going on across most sectors other than Mining (which remains fairly stagnant from a recruitment perspective).

I’ve often talked about the failings of the recruitment industry, despite the fact that I and many other good people strive for the highest standards of professionalism.

But we don’t talk enough about what candidates can do to be professional in their dealings with us.

When I’m working with job seekers – either as a career coaching client or as an applicant for a job I’m recruiting – I find it frustrating when they can’t identify their employers of choice.

It’s like asking someone what they want to eat, and they say “Anything will do.” That bugs me because I can’t pick up the phone and order ”anything” from my local takeaway. It also bugs me because it shows there’s no thought going into it.

For those that don’t know me, I’m the Managing Partner of a Brisbane based executive recruitment company, Arete Executive. I’ve also recently launched the Arete Podcast, where I interview leading CEOs, Non Executive Directors and other leaders about their careers, key achievements, lessons learnt along the way and so on. The motivation for the podcast is to allow those who aspire to achieving similar career success, to learn from those who have walked the path before them, in order to hopefully accelerate their own careers.

I thought for this article I would summarise some of the key learnings from my early guests; those that I found most interesting and pertinent.

I want to give you an example of this in action, so you can understand how to apply these principles for yourself.

If you search on LinkedIn for “executive search” in Australia, my profile will appear at the top of the search results.

And if you search for “career coach” in Australia, my profile will again appear at the top of the list.

Please take a moment to do this search, putting “executive search” and “Australia” into an Advanced search (located at the right of the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn page). As you’ll see, I am currently ranked No. 1 in Australia.

You might think it’s an odd choice for an executive recruiter to recommend to job seekers. Here’s why this book – and its compelling message – is a really valuable aid in your job search.

I’ve written before about why job ads have disappearedto make you aware that the majority (some say 90%) of jobs are now filled by recruiters and companies searching the LinkedIn database to find their preferred candidates.

I suggested that your career planning should involve you exploring all the possibilities of Quadrants Two, Three and Four. I want you to give careful thought to what other roles you could do within your current industry; and what other industries you could bring value to.

This is all about transferable skills and it’s really valuable for you to be able to demonstrate HOW your experience can transfer into other roles and into other industries

In my work as an executive recruiter and career coach, I frequently counsel my coaching clients on proactive steps they can take to speed up the process of finding a new position.

Tapping into your existing network can be a valuable way to learn about potential new roles. Every day, for all sorts of reasons, there are changes at a company that could result in a job opening. Getting the “inside running” on that opening can give you a huge advantage.

In fact, it’s been my experience that the majority of jobs have always been filled in more informal ways.

Newsletter Sign Up

About Arete

Our team is drawn from the senior ranks of the recruitment industry bringing many years of experience, knowledge and tenacity – this means shorter, targeted searches with better results. Arete has the advantage of a dedicated “world’s best practice” research team which is able to identify exceptional talent, whether they are actively looking or not.